What a journey it’s been!

It’s a little past midnight, and I’m just about to hit the sack. Reflecting on the day gone by – the 100th day of the Streatu app going live – what a great day it was.

In fact, a customer – Benjamin – made it special. Benjamin works for an IT company situated on new airport road, and is a customer who’s ordered 13 times in the past couple of months.

Earlier today, Benjamin placed an order for a couple of sugarcane juice bottles from a vendor – Shree Lakshmi Sugarcane Juice Center. Unfortunately, a delivery partner had to cancel and I happened to be in the vicinity of the vendor.

My sister Shreevidya, who runs customer delight at Streatu, rang me up and explained the situation. I turned delivery boy to fulfil this order, and made my way to Benjamin’s location – a swanky office building in Yelahanka.

I called Benjamin up and asked if I could leave the package at security as his office was one of those kinds that had strict access control. Benjamin asked me to wait a minute, and that he’d like to collect the order directly from me.

A couple of minutes later, Benjamin walks up to the security kiosk, where I was waiting for him, with his Streatu package. He shakes my hand, and says, thank you for the app. Unknown to me, my sister has given Benjamin a heads-up, stating that since the delivery person had to cancel, one of Streatu’s co-founders would deliver the package.

What followed really made my day.

Benjamin: I’m so happy to meet you. I didn’t expect the owner of Streatu to come and deliver my order.

Me: Oh, I’m not the owner, I’m just one of the co-founders of the app.

Benjamin: Anyway, it’s so good meeting you. Your app’s really awesome. I no longer order from Swiggy and Zomato. Your prices are great and service is really good.

Me: Thank you very much. It’s customers like you who keep us going. That’s why we make sure one of us picks up an order and delivers even if a delivery agent isn’t available.

Benjamin: When are you guys expanding to other localities of Bangalore? I’d love to order from home as well.

Me: We’re going to expand across Bangalore soon. We’re bootstrapped currently, and are looking at raising some funds to expand pan-Bangalore.

Benjamin: Please do. I can’t wait.

Me: Sure. Thank you for your order. Please do keep ordering. Bye.

And I walked away, mighty pleased. The 100th day of Streatu going live is a day I’m going to remember for a long time, thanks to Benjamin. 🙂

As founders, we live for such moments. It’s delightful to see a customer happy with our product, a product that we built from scratch. Onwards, and upwards.

PS: Soon after Benjamin’s order, one more person from the same office complex – Mohammed Raazi – ordered another 500 ml of sugarcane juice from the same vendor. This time, the delivery happened seamlessly, like it usually does for 99/100 orders.